Cylinder 4 con rod and crank damage after 4000 miles

[Pegman1184]

Hey guys
Very disgruntled owner here. My 2010 s1k recently let go (unknown to me at the time). It didn't sound too bad and thought it may have been the CCT . John Clark Aberdeen stripped top end and found all ok. Asked me for more money to strip engine and continue with the investigation.
Turns out the engine has spun a shell on cylinder 4. Cylinder 1-3 are all ok and making compression (12.5 bar approx)but 4 is low (11 bar) .
Although the bike is a 2010 it's only done 4000 miles. John Clark Aberdeen proceeded to tell me that the engine is goosed and needs a new engine to the tune of ?9300 fitted. I was devastated.
They made a case and gave it to Bmw who came back and said that due to the bike being serviced from regal Superbikes ( where I bought it's from serviced at 3000 miles , 3000 miles before it's 6000 service) they would not give me a good will gesture.
I'm now continuing the fight with BMW uk before I have to go legal.
Can anyone assist on this? Bmw gave me a very vague report, no explanation as to what's happened and whys it's let go at such low mileage. I've also noticed that the cranks on the 2011 were re designed. Is this due to this reason?

They also told me that the engine is beyond repair but surely any privateer racer etcwont be replacing an engine every time a shell is spun?!?
Any information would be great here as basically I'm left with a bike that's absolutely useless. Now I'm away to cry in my bed. Help!!!

 

[Toan the Moan]

Just buy a second hand engine and fit that

 

[Felix]

Did the engine have any weird noises?

 

[JimmyMac]

Would have thought having bought it from a garage at 3000 miles and the engine gave up within 1000 miles your case would be against Regal Superbikes (Not fit for purpose) and not manufacturer (After a 3rd party had been doing work on it).

Next part quoted from Martin Lewis website.

The key law to know is the Sales of Goods Act 1979. This should be compulsorily taught in schools, but isn?t. All shop staff should be trained to know it, but they?re not. So instead, savvy consumers must arm themselves with the knowledge.
When you buy goods the phrase that pays is that goods must be of:
?Satisfactory quality, as described, fit for purpose and last a reasonable length of time.?
These are the ''faulty?? rights. If goods fall down on this, then by law they?re faulty and you have a right of refund or repair. Most of these rights are self-explanatory; for example, if you bought speakers that do work but don?t fit your iPod, they are ''as described??, unless the box or the shop assistant promised they definitely would work with iPods.
The biggest confusion tends to come over ''lasts a reasonable length of time?. As it?s a subjective law, just ask yourself what a dispassionate, reasonable person would say to your argument.
For example, if you had a 10p whistle that broke down after six months, you?d probably think that that was reasonable, but you wouldn?t say the same if a ?5,000 LCD TV went kaput after the same time. The longest the law allows you to complain is up to six years after buying, but it?s rare that things should reasonably last that long.

Best of luck whatever way it pans out.

JimmyMac

 

[Eddie]

I'd be surprised if the engine was irrevocably damaged unless the casings or cylinder have been severely damaged. Have you seen it? Any pictures?

John Clark are a main dealer aren't they, in my experience a main dealer always recommend replacement rather than repair for any faulty part. Easier for them to bolt in a new one than fanny about getting bits and doing a rebuild. Land Rover were the same when my Discovery went pop. They said the engine was totally goosed but the lad who bought it from me (independent LR mechanic) had rebuilt a few and reckoned he could mend it and make a tidy profit on the car.

I know that Phil Crowe offers a rebuild service, he might be able to offer you some advice as to whether it's worth mending. If not I'm sure he'd be able to help you source a decent engine.

Then I'd be chasing both Regal and BMW to assist with the costs, regardless of mileage (which is very low) 7yrs isn't what most people would consider a reasonable lifespan for a motorbike.

Good luck, hope you get sorted.

 

[Pegman1184]

Hi guys thanks for the replies. Basically regal Superbikes told me that he only gave a 3 month warranty for the bike. I'd had it just over a year but had done only 700 miles in that year.
Ideally I'd like to repair the engine to keep the engine no the same. With the bike being low miles that's the route I'd like to go down as I'm sure that if I swapped the engine out completely that I would loose money when sold.

Nothing shows up on my phone for the martin Lewis quote

I totally agree that the lifespan of bmws flagship model should be way more than 7 yrs and 4K , I've seen models of that age on eBay with 40k miles

Yeah John Clark are a main dealer so I agree that they just want the easy fix. The reports they have diagnosed are very vague . They have advised me that the top end , cams and followers are all ok, timing is fine and that there is no damage to the pistons and combustion chambers. It's all seems to be bottom end.
I'll try and get the report and the pictures up asap
I've spoken to the financial ombudsman and some of the bike still has finance remaining. They believe I have a good case either way as if it's a mechanical failure BMW should stump up and if not I should go back after regal Superbikes due to the bike not being fit for purpose.

 

[Eddie]

Yeah John Clark are a main dealer so I agree that they just want the easy fix. The reports they have diagnosed are very vague . They have advised me that the top end , cams and followers are all ok, timing is fine and that there is no damage to the pistons and combustion chambers. It's all seems to be bottom end.
I'll try and get the report and the pictures up asap
I've spoken to the financial ombudsman and some of the bike still has finance remaining. They believe I have a good case either way as if it's a mechanical failure BMW should stump up and if not I should go back after regal Superbikes due to the bike not being fit for purpose.

That sounds repairable to me, might need a conrod and new bearings. Perhaps some regrinding of the crankshaft.

Seriously, get in touch with a decent engine builder and see if they can help.

I'm travelling from Glasgow to North Yorks in my van every month and am at Cadwell regularly so can help you with transporting it to someone like Phil to get it sorted.

 

[fast_ryan]

Phil Crowe

If you are going to use Phil Crowe I would strongly suggest booking early as he is now extremely busy with work having just returned from the IOM TT.

 

[Pegman1184]

Cool I'm still chasing up actual andswers from BMW and I still have to escalate this with their complaints. I think this may be a long and drawn out process. Is there any engine guys in Scotland worth going too?

 

[Pegman1184]

Do we have a contact for phil? I still believe this is Bmw issue but I've heard they will do anything to get out of fixing the bike

 

[alex]

but I've heard they will do anything to get out of fixing the bike

Cobblers.

Phil Crowey https://www.facebook.com/phillip.crowey

 

[JimmyMac]

Nothing shows up on my phone for the martin Lewis quote

I totally agree that the lifespan of bmws flagship model should be way more than 7 yrs and 4K , I've seen models of that age on eBay with 40k miles

There you go. Basically Sale of Goods Act.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/...3/Martin-Lewis-shoppers-know-your-rights.html

Good Luck

JimmyMac

 

[POOKIE]

Check your Private message but I have had this experience myself. in my opinion a shell will only spin if incorrect oil is used or because of oil starvation to that cylinder, either way its not something you can physically do from everyday use so BMW should cover it but my experience tells me they wont.
Good luck with it all

 

[mike g]

Hmm - when I first looked at buying one, back in 2010, the dealer had one with a spun bearing - they had replaced the engine and were selling it as the customer had demanded a new bike. they reckoned it was due to it being thrashed before it was properly run in, and had downloaded over 180mph from the ECU with less than 1000 miles on it. not sure if this could apply to yours? I think the later model crank changes were to make them heavier / smoother and not to do with this issue. sounds like yours is still running? so should be fixable - good luck

 

[Pegman1184]

Yeah it's still running Mike. I'd imagine even if the running in procedure wasn't completed correctly I'd like to have thought it would have held out less than the 4000 miles and also it passed the checks after the run in procedure was completed so as far as I'm concerned it should all be good. Bmw are just using the service as their get out clause
Absolute disgrace

 

[JimmyMac]

I totally feel for you Penman but I still think your beef should be with Regal bikes rather than BMW. See it from their perspective, they sell a quality product with a warranty, the warranty expires. A separate company buys and sells the bike for profit and services it making no money for BMW. The engine gives up and somehow they have to pick up the tab?
I don't understand the logic in your thinking, as far as I see it you paid Regal for the bike which has fallen way short of what should be expected for the age and price of product. I would personally be speaking to the Citizens Advice Bureau with a view to be pursuing Regal, who after all were the oned who took your cash not BMW.

Hope you don't think I'm being a fud about your predicament, I genuinely wish you all the best with this.

JimmyMac

 

[Pegman1184]

Na mate not at all. It's a route I've been down with him aswell. He's basically saying that it's a mechanical manufacturing failure which he cannot be held responsible for.
I spoke to the financial ombudsman who says that if BMW say that it's not been a mechanical fault I can go after regal Superbikes.
If BMW come back and tell me it is a mechanical failure they should be liable to sort the issue . It's not a consumable part it's something which is untouchable by any mechanic unless the engine is being opened up which is highly u likely considering he only bought the bike , serviced it and sold it on.

 

[Corkgsxr]

I'm not having a go just a point. Isn't it 6000 miles or every year servicing regardless of miles so it's effectively missed 5 or 6 services

 

[Pegman1184]

Well yes I suppose that's right but I've had this with BMW aswell. Is there really a need to service a bike that's done less than 600 miles a year for that period?
Also regardless of service history a bike of that mileage should not be blowing a bottom end

 

[Corkgsxr]

Issue isn't does it need it or not it's a requirement for warranty. The argument is oil that isn't used much builds up water and contaminants and it's not up to the job.

But yes that's piss all mileage